As luminaires have increasingly relied on electronic components in their operation, those electronic components frequently require use of a microcontroller to govern operation thereof. Accordingly, the microcontroller must be provided with instructions to operate the luminaire, the instructions commonly being referred to as programming. Moreover, as luminaires have expanded in capability to be able to generate light with varying characteristics, the electronic components associated with such capability have increased in complexity in order to enable such varying characteristics.
However, as the capabilities of luminaires have increased, the electronic components enabling such capabilities have focused on the ability of a user to continuously vary the lighting characteristics of the luminaire. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 8,013,545, entitled Modular Networked Light Bulb, discloses a light bulb having a networking module that enables the light bulb to operate with varying levels of luminous intensity according to information received by the networking module from across the network. Additionally, U.S. Pat. No. 6,528,954, entitled Smart Light Bulb, discloses a light bulb that is configured to transmit and/or receive a signal from another device across a network and operate responsive to that signal/control the operation of another light bulb responsive to that signal. This additional functionality of luminaires requires additional electronic components, increasing the cost of a luminaire that may have the ability to produce light with selective color characteristics. Frequently, the cost of the additional functionality of the luminaires causes a marginal number of consumers to decide against purchasing such a light bulb. Therefore, there is a need for a light bulb with the capability to emit light with variable characteristics while reducing cost by exclusion of undesired or unnecessary features, such as networked operation.
Additionally, in the current market, consumers seeking to purchase luminaires with fixed luminous intensity, color temperature, or other characteristics of light must currently select a luminaire from a vast array of the varying permutations of luminous intensity, color temperature, etc. Frequently, the cost of the luminaire can be a determining factor in the purchasing decision of the consumer. Moreover, a store seeking to accommodate such customers must maintain stock of the variety of luminaires, and have sufficient shelf space to display the luminaires. Accordingly, there is a need for a low-cost luminaire that provides light with fixed light characteristics at a favorable cost while simultaneously reducing the necessary inventory and shelf-space used by a merchant in offering a sufficient variety of combinations of light characteristics for sale.
This background information is provided to reveal information believed by the applicant to be of possible relevance to the present invention. No admission is intended, nor should be construed, that any of the preceding information constitutes prior art against the present invention.